Syllabus

Week 1: Jan. 2 - Jan. 5

Day 1: Introduction: Generativity at the Network and Content Layer

(Wed. Jan. 2)

• Readings:
  • Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It (Forthcoming 2008), Chapters 1-2
  • Worldwide but Homegrown, New York Times, Oct. 30, 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/opinion/30sun2.html

Day 2: Generative Discontent: Cybersecurity

(Thu. Jan. 3)

• Readings:
  • Randy Picker, Cyber Security: Of Heterogeneity and Autarky
  • Paul Ohm, The Myth of the Superuser, pp. 1-19, 48-50
  • David Banisar, Save the Net, Sue a Software Maker

Day 3: Intermediary Liability: Defamation

(Fri. Jan. 4)

• Readings:
  • Communications Decency Act § 230
  • Jonathan Zittrain, A History Of Online Gatekeeping, pp. 257-263
  • Cases and case studies related to the CDA:
    • Doe v. MySpace, 474 F.Supp.2d 843 (W.D. Tex. 2007), pp. 1-10
    • Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com, 489 F.3d 921 (9th Cir. 2007)
    • John Siegenthaler op-ed on Wikipedia
  • WikiScanner (browse)
• Assignment due today: Edit Wikipedia

Week 2: Jan. 7 - Jan. 11

Day 4: Intermediary Liabilty: ISPs and OSPs

(Mon. Jan. 7)

• Readings:
  • Digital Millennium Copyright Act § 512
  • Viacom complaint against Google/Youtube
  • User-generated content
    • UGC Principles document
    • EFF/Berkman Fair Use Principles for User Generated Video Content
  • Letters from Chillingeffects.org:
    • "Loving Family" Pendants
    • Electronic Arts Blocks Mobile Tetris
    • Don't Affiliate Me with Your Subversive Acts
    • Boston Beer Froths at "Sam Adams for Mayor" Website (Sidenote: The founder of Boston Beer is an HLS alum.)

Day 5: Secondary Liability

(Tue. Jan. 8)

• Readings:
  • Sony v. Universal, 464 U.S. 417 (1984), paragraphs [1]-[10] and [40]-[56]
  • MGM v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005), Majority opinion pp. 1-3, 10-24 (in slip op)
    • MGM v. Grokster Appointment of Special Master
    • Fred von Lohmann, How Hollywood Has Been Trying to Disrupt Disruptive Innovation
  • Randy Picker, Rewinding Sony: The Evolving Product, Phoning Home and the Duty of Ongoing Design, pp. 1-10, 24-37 (rest of the article is optional)
• Optional:
  • Browse Ginsburg and Breyer concurrences in MGM v. Grokster
• Assignment due this evening at midnight: Wikipedia Dispute Resolution

Day 6: Generativity Theory

(Wed. Jan. 9)

• Readings:
  • Lawrence Lessig, Code 2.0, Ch. 5
  • Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet, pp. 101-123
  • Eric von Hippel, Democratizing Innovation, Ch. 2
  • Debora Spar, Ruling the Waves, Prologue: The View from Partenia

Day 7: Trusted Systems

(Thu. Jan. 10)

• Readings:
  • Zittrain, Technological Complements to Copyright, pp. 1-9; 11-19; 51-54; 58-63; 130-134 -- Available in the Coop or printed packets
  • Carl Kaplan, Assessing Linking Liability (NY Times description of Corley)
  • Julie Cohen, "Copyright and the Jurisprudence of Self-Help" (pp. 13-22)
  • Third-party development
    • Facebook Developers Terms of Service (preface only)
  • Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet, pp. 123-126
• Optional:
  • Google OpenSocial API Terms of Service

Day 8: Open Code

(Fri. Jan 11)

• Readings:
  • Wendy Tanaka, Bubbling Widget Growth (Forbes)
  • Yochai Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, Ch. 3, pp. 63-67
  • Brett Smith, A Quick Guide to GPLv3
  • Richard Stallman, Some Confusing or Loaded Words and Phrases that are Worth Avoiding
  • Roger Parloff, Microsoft Takes on the Free World (Fortune)
  • Charles Babcock, Law Center Steps Up GPL Defense, Seeks First U.S. Test Case (Information Week)
  • Open DRM?
    • Sun Microsystems, Open Media Commons Releases Specifications and Source Code for Open, Royalty-Free Digital Rights Management (Press Release)
    • Lawrence Lessig, openDRM (blog post)
  • Anne Eisenberg, What This Gadget Can Do Is Up to You (NY Times)

Week 3: Jan. 14 - Jan. 18

Day 9: Free Culture

(Mon. Jan. 14)

• Readings:
  • Lessig, Free Culture Excerpt
  • Amateurism
    • Andrew Keen, Web 2.0 (Weekly Standard)
    • Terry Fisher, Speech on Amateurism (OECD Digital Content Conference)
    • David Weinberger, Andrew Keen's Best Case (Huffington Post)
  • Open University
    • Nesson-Marguiles interview
    • Jeffrey Young, Thanks to YouTube, Professors Are Finding New Audiences?
  • Open Access
    • PRISM, New Initiative Preserving Research Integrity to Unite Scholars, Publishers (press release)
    • Peter Suber, Publishers launch an anti-OA lobbying organization
    • American Association of Publishers, Publishers Say Enactment of NIH Mandate on Journal Articles Undermines Intellectual Property Rights Essential to Science Publishing
  • Google books:
    • Michigan Google contract

Day 10: Privacy 2.0

(Tue. Jan. 15)

• Readings:
  • Zittrain, Future of the Internet, Chapter 9
  • StopBadware.org, Facebook responds to privacy concerns, but some still remain
  • Solveig Singleton, Privacy as Censorship (CATO)
• Demos:
  • http://www.whosarat.com
  • http://www.gawker.com/stalker
  • http://www.rapleaf.com

Day 11: Filtering, Jurisdiction, and Net Neutrality

(Wed. Jan. 16)

• Readings:
  • OpenNet Initiative, Myanmar (Burma) profile
  • Ex Parte Filing United States DOJ In the Matter of Broadband Industry Practices
  • Proposal for Use of Search Engines to Administer the Internet and Next Steps (sensitive)

Day 12: Netizenship: The Public Spirit in Private Organizations

(Thu. Jan. 17)

• Readings:
  • Lior Strahilevitz, 'How's My Driving?' for Everyone (and Everything?)

Day 13: Conclusion: OLPC and the Future of the Internet

(Fri. Jan. 18)

• Readings:
  • OLPC
    • Frank Bajak, Laptop project enlivens Peruvian village (AP)
    • Steve Stecklow & James Bandler, A Little Laptop With Big Ambitions (WSJ)
    • Microsoft TechNet, OLPC in the News pt. 2?
  • Digital Natives?
  • Zittrain, The Future of the Internet, Conclusion